RAC members with trailers? You'd better cancel...
12 August 2002, 07:32 AM
#1
Scooby Regular
Thread Starter
Join Date: Oct 1998
Location: London
Posts: 4,891
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Anyone on here regularly run a trailer behind their car (you know, boats, bikes, jetskis, that sort of thing)?
Do you have RAC roadside assistance cover? Well, this weekend we had a bit of an enlightenment.
Basically, having spent most of Saturday hooning about on the open sea in my mate Scott's RIB down at Camber sands (Kent), we headed back home at about 5pm. Not far from our house, the offside bearings on his trailer collapsed, rendering it stationary.
So, we phone the RAC to ask if they can send a flatbed and get us home - a total of 8 miles. "Sorry, we can't help you", they said, "you don't have trailer cover". Scott explained that he didn't realise trailers weren't covered, since they had been covered when he'd been in the AA, but he suggested that if he paid to upgrade to trailer cover, presumably that'd be okay?
Well, apparently not. [img]images/smilies/mad.gif[/img] After arguing the toss for the best part of an hour, it became clear that the RAC do not cover trailers at all. The guy we spoke to (who was a supervisor at the RAC Response Centre at Glasgow) even went so far as to say that if we'd been travelling with a trailer, and the car itself had broken down (rather than the trailer), they would have recovered the car but left the trailer by the side of the road!!!! [img]images/smilies/mad.gif[/img]
Fairly astonishing, really.
The only option we were given was for the RAC to arrange a private contractor to come out and recover the trailer for us. However, this was likely to cost something in the region of £150-200 (to get 8 miles, rememeber). With no other options, we asked them to arrange this for us - 2 hours later they'd still not got back to us. 
In the end, we decided to phone the AA - who couldn't have been more helpful. Having had a good laugh at the RAC's sh*te service, they said that they could sign Scott up for a year's membership (with trailer cover) and come and recover us immediately, for a total of £135 - £85 of which was the 'no-notice' call-out charge. Not bad, IMO.
Oh, and just to finish off the story, at 9:30pm - four hours after our initial call - the RAC called us to say that they couldn't find a contractor until the next day (Sunday). Meaning that even if we'd been prepared to stump up the extortionate charge, we'd have had to camp overnight with the boat anyway! [img]images/smilies/mad.gif[/img]
So, the moral of the story is that if you have a towbar, and are ever likely to use it - cancel your RAC membership, and go with the AA!!!!
BTW, if anyone in the media would like to run a story to this effect (since I'm sure there are thousands of RAC customers in the UK who don't realise that the RAC will just abandon their trailers in the event of a breakdown) please drop me a line and I can provide contact details of the RAC staff, etc., who were involved.
Do you have RAC roadside assistance cover? Well, this weekend we had a bit of an enlightenment.
Basically, having spent most of Saturday hooning about on the open sea in my mate Scott's RIB down at Camber sands (Kent), we headed back home at about 5pm. Not far from our house, the offside bearings on his trailer collapsed, rendering it stationary.
So, we phone the RAC to ask if they can send a flatbed and get us home - a total of 8 miles. "Sorry, we can't help you", they said, "you don't have trailer cover". Scott explained that he didn't realise trailers weren't covered, since they had been covered when he'd been in the AA, but he suggested that if he paid to upgrade to trailer cover, presumably that'd be okay?
Well, apparently not. [img]images/smilies/mad.gif[/img] After arguing the toss for the best part of an hour, it became clear that the RAC do not cover trailers at all. The guy we spoke to (who was a supervisor at the RAC Response Centre at Glasgow) even went so far as to say that if we'd been travelling with a trailer, and the car itself had broken down (rather than the trailer), they would have recovered the car but left the trailer by the side of the road!!!!
[img]images/smilies/mad.gif[/img] Fairly astonishing, really.
The only option we were given was for the RAC to arrange a private contractor to come out and recover the trailer for us. However, this was likely to cost something in the region of £150-200 (to get 8 miles, rememeber).
With no other options, we asked them to arrange this for us - 2 hours later they'd still not got back to us. In the end, we decided to phone the AA - who couldn't have been more helpful. Having had a good laugh at the RAC's sh*te service, they said that they could sign Scott up for a year's membership (with trailer cover) and come and recover us immediately, for a total of £135 - £85 of which was the 'no-notice' call-out charge. Not bad, IMO.
Oh, and just to finish off the story, at 9:30pm - four hours after our initial call - the RAC called us to say that they couldn't find a contractor until the next day (Sunday). Meaning that even if we'd been prepared to stump up the extortionate charge, we'd have had to camp overnight with the boat anyway!
[img]images/smilies/mad.gif[/img]So, the moral of the story is that if you have a towbar, and are ever likely to use it - cancel your RAC membership, and go with the AA!!!!
BTW, if anyone in the media would like to run a story to this effect (since I'm sure there are thousands of RAC customers in the UK who don't realise that the RAC will just abandon their trailers in the event of a breakdown) please drop me a line and I can provide contact details of the RAC staff, etc., who were involved.
12 August 2002, 10:03 AM
#3
Scooby Regular
Thread Starter
Join Date: Oct 1998
Location: London
Posts: 4,891
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
No, it just meant that because we weren't members before we actually broke down, we had to pay a supplement. Fairly standard practice, I guess, otherwise people would just drive around for years, and only join up the day they first broke down.
12 August 2002, 10:39 AM
#4
Scooby Regular
Join Date: Mar 2000
Location: Weston Super Mare, Somerset.
Posts: 14,102
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Coincidentally I had a flat on my (fairly small) trailer last Monday bringing back a marquee from a weekend party. Fortunately I was close to home so I drove slowly back on flat wrecking the tyre only (no spare wheel). Discovered bearings had probably seized and now trying to get new ones. Am with AA and assumed I am covered for trailer breakdown but never checked so a relevant reminder - thanks. DL BTW I found a terrific place in Perth, Scotland at www.autow.co.uk for trailer spares, good prices and new tyre delivered by courier next day 
12 August 2002, 12:48 PM
#5
Scooby Regular
Join Date: Dec 2001
Posts: 3,418
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
I have no spare for one of my trailers (typical that the studs are space different to my other trailer) and asked an AA guy would I be covered if I got a flat and he said yes if it was an easy repair to the tyre, if not they would have to get ATS out but would be covered.
I actually have RAC and AA.. it is a long story but I am on my Dad's RAC and he keeps renewing it despite me saying I no longer need it.. RAC got my back up years ago with there repair at the side of the road only policy.. so if they cannot repair it they leave you there!
David Lock, I shall check that website, might be able to get a spare...
JGM
I actually have RAC and AA.. it is a long story but I am on my Dad's RAC and he keeps renewing it despite me saying I no longer need it.. RAC got my back up years ago with there repair at the side of the road only policy.. so if they cannot repair it they leave you there!
David Lock, I shall check that website, might be able to get a spare...
JGM
12 August 2002, 12:56 PM
#6
Scooby Regular
Wouldn't join the RAC out of principle anyway.
1. I've had several years of putting up with bad organisation from them through various forms of Motorsport, the event organisers had no choice but to deal with them, as an RACMSA licence is required to run an event in the first place.
2. The ba***rds have managed to get my telephone number from somewhere, and insist on phoning me up at stupid times on a Saturday morning to sell me stuff that I'm fed up of telling them I don't want.
3. Through years of owning Fords, I've become on first name terms with most of the AA's engineers
1. I've had several years of putting up with bad organisation from them through various forms of Motorsport, the event organisers had no choice but to deal with them, as an RACMSA licence is required to run an event in the first place.
2. The ba***rds have managed to get my telephone number from somewhere, and insist on phoning me up at stupid times on a Saturday morning to sell me stuff that I'm fed up of telling them I don't want.
3. Through years of owning Fords, I've become on first name terms with most of the AA's engineers
12 August 2002, 01:20 PM
#7
Scooby Regular
Join Date: Aug 2002
Posts: 665
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
I got caught out on holiday last year with trailer cover that excluded boats - I won in the end as the trailer type on the policy was listed as 'Seadoo Jet Boat'.
Now I'm with the RAC and definately DO have trailer cover.
When I took out the policy they said if I joined the Caravan Club they would cover the trailer. I pointed out that it was b*ll*cks because I don't own a caravan, but they said it was OK and covered a boat too.
When I rang back to get it extended to European cover they said that I should have just bought trailer cover from them, but due to the mix up they would honour it.
Now I'm with the RAC and definately DO have trailer cover.
When I took out the policy they said if I joined the Caravan Club they would cover the trailer. I pointed out that it was b*ll*cks because I don't own a caravan, but they said it was OK and covered a boat too.
When I rang back to get it extended to European cover they said that I should have just bought trailer cover from them, but due to the mix up they would honour it.